Ill. Judge Blocks Trump's DEI Conditions For Disaster Grants

By Allison Grande

An Illinois federal judge has temporarily enjoined the Trump administration from imposing certain conditions on the city of Chicago and other local governments seeking federal emergency funds, including that they halt diversity, equity and inclusion programs, finding that the challengers had demonstrated these conditions are "likely unlawful."

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Hytera Fights $290M Restitution Bid At Sentencing Hearing

By Celeste Bott

Counsel for Hytera Communications Corp. urged an Illinois federal judge Monday to reject prosecutors' request that it pay more than $290 million in restitution to Motorola Solutions Inc. for conspiring to steal its trade secrets, arguing during the first day of a two-day sentencing hearing that Motorola will be made whole by the more than $600 million Hytera must fork over in a parallel civil case.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mass. Judge Says States Can Fight Planned Parenthood Cuts

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday chided a Trump administration lawyer for continuing to argue that a coalition of states lacks standing to seek to block what it says is the effective defunding of Planned Parenthood, even as it only just received a lengthy list of new requirements for Medicaid reimbursement.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

21 States Get Judge To Halt Trump Cuts Of 4 Fed. Agencies

By Joyce Hanson

A Rhode Island federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from eliminating four federal agencies that support museums and libraries, minority businesses, organized labor, and homeless services, handing a win to a coalition of 21 states that challenged the legality of the cuts.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FTC Abandons In-House GTCR Merger Case After Court Loss

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission formally dropped its administrative case challenging GTCR BC Holdings LLC's acquisition of a medical coatings supplier after an Illinois federal judge refused to put the deal on hold.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Looks To Settle RealPage Rent Price-Fixing Claims

By Isaac Monterose

The federal government filed a proposed final judgment on Monday that aims to settle antitrust claims accusing property management software company RealPage Inc. and multiple landlords of conspiring to use RealPage's revenue management software to fix rent prices.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

PJM Says FERC Wrongly Nixed Grid Planning Change

By Keith Goldberg

PJM Interconnection has told the D.C. Circuit that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wrongly rejected a plan the regional grid operator brokered with transmission owners to make grid planning decisions without the approval of its members committee.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Ex-McDonald's Executive Takes Race Bias Suit To 7th Circ.

By Patrick Hoff

A Black former security executive for McDonald's is appealing the fast food giant's win over his lawsuit claiming he was fired for confronting the company's CEO about racial disparities, he told an Illinois federal court Monday.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Venable Adds Ex-Benesch Partner To Chicago Office

By James Boyle

An attorney with more than 20 years of experience representing clients in complex investments and transactions has moved his practice to Venable LLP's Chicago office after two years with Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

State AGs May Extend Their Reach To Nat'l Security Concerns

Companies with foreign supply-chain risk exposure need a comprehensive risk-management strategy to address a growing trend in which state attorneys general use broadly written state laws to target conduct that may not violate federal regulations, but arguably constitutes a national security threat, say attorneys at Wiley.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

5 Bonus Plan Compliance Issues In Financial Services

As several legal constraints — including a new California debt repayment law taking effect in January — tighten around employment practices in the fiercely competitive financial services sector, the importance of compliant, well-drafted bonus plans has never been greater, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Making The Case To Combine

When making the decision to merge, law firm leaders must factor in strategic alignment, cultural compatibility and leadership commitment in order to build a compelling case for combining firms to achieve shared goals and long-term success, says Kevin McLaughlin at UB Greensfelder.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bonus Spotlight

5 BigLaw Firms Match Prevailing Year-End, Special Bonuses

By Anna Sanders

BigLaw continues to dole out extra cash for attorneys just in time for the holidays, with five more firms matching the year-end and special bonuses previously announced by their peers.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feds' Claim Against Judge Weighing Trans Troops Ban Tossed

By Lauren Berg

The D.C. Circuit's chief judge tossed the U.S. Department of Justice's misconduct complaint against the federal judge overseeing litigation challenging the Trump administration's ban on transgender troops serving in the military, saying judicial misconduct proceedings are not the appropriate avenue to address concerns about a judge's impartiality.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Comey, James Defeat Charges Over Halligan's Appointment

By Ryan Boysen

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the headline-grabbing indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, finding the controversial prosecutor handling both cases was not properly appointed.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Calif. Personal Injury Law Firm Sued Over Ransomware Attack

By Gina Kim

A former Adamson Ahdoot LLP client lodged a proposed class action in California state court on Friday over a Nov. 3 ransomware attack, alleging the law firm failed to protect his personal information despite touting on its website that it follows industry standards to do so.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feature

Prep, Panic & Poise: Inside An Associate's First Oral Argument

By Jeff Overley

Fraser M. Holmes followed a long professional path to a Texas court's lectern. He'd been a baseball blogger, travel writer and social studies teacher before appellate law beckoned. After years of toil, a milestone moment — his first oral argument — finally arrived, but as justices took the bench, his heart sank: "Oh, my God. I think I've just forgotten my entire argument."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Google Calls Rumble's Recusal Bid Irrelevant To Its Appeal

By Andrea Keckley

Google is urging the Ninth Circuit to disregard concerns Rumble has raised about the trial judge's relationship with the tech giant's litigation vice president, saying Friday that the information is irrelevant to the YouTube rival's appeal of the court's ruling that its antitrust lawsuit was filed too late.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Oversight Chair Seeks USPTO Briefing On Litigation Funding

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, is seeking a briefing by the end of the month from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on third-party litigation funding and reforms the agency is working on.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

8th Circ. Won't Force Judge's Recusal In Pork Price-Fixing Case

By Matthew Perlman

The Eighth Circuit has denied a mandamus petition from Agri Stats Inc. and major pork producers who are seeking a Minnesota federal judge's recusal in price-fixing litigation based on a law clerk's previous work on a related case.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week delivered a packed mix of fraud allegations, merger fallout, corporate-governance reforms and jurisdictional fights, while a new academic report ignited debate over attorney fee awards in Delaware's influential corporate forum.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »